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Spanish Judge Summons Iraqi Commander

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David Roman in Madrid and

Ali A. Nabhan in Baghdad

Updated Jan. 4, 2011 9:51 p.m. ET

A Spanish judge has summoned an Iraqi military commander, who is accused of having directed a 2009 assault on a camp in Iraq holding Iranian opponents of the Tehran government, for questioning over alleged breaches of the Geneva Convention.

A representative for Spain's National Court said Tuesday that a writ signed by Judge Fernando Andreu summoned Abdul-Hussein Shemmari, now a major general, to appear before the court March 8 to answer questions about his alleged role in the attack on the Ashraf refugee camp.

The attack, which followed sustained pressure from Iran on the Baghdad government to close the camp, left 11 people dead and 450 wounded.

The summons is the latest in a series of controversial summons by Spanish judges applying the "universal justice" principle—under which crimes against humanity alleged to have taken place anywhere can be tried in its courts—to take on international cases.

Gen. Shemmari, 57 years old, has been police chief of Diyala, the province northeast of Baghdad in which Ashraf is located, since Sep. 2008.

Reached by telephone Tuesday in Baquba, the capital of Diyala, Gen. Shemmari said he had nothing to do with the assault. "I was not present at the scene of the clashes and I challenge anyone who says so," he said.

He said he knew nothing of the summons and wouldn't appear before the court unless ordered to by the Iraqi authorities.

A statement from the chief lawyer in the case, Juan Garcés, said Gen. Shemmari worked during the operation under the supervision of a committee responsible to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Mr. Maliki himself, who has the support of the Tehran government, isn't accused or cited in the court summons.

Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh couldn't be reached to comment.

The Ashraf assault targeted members of the Mujahedin-e-Khalq, a group classified as terrorist organization by the U.S. that has opposed the Iranian regime for decades.

According to the Spanish summons, the assault—conducted by 2,000 soldiers against unarmed civilians—was in breach of the Geneva Convention provisions for the protection of civilians during wartime.

Mr. Garcés, a combative attorney who was a force behind the 1998 indictment of late Chilean strongman Augusto Pinochet by Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzón, said this was the first time that an Iraqi official had been summoned before a court for serious violations of international law.

The MEK said in a statement that the summons made the resumption of U.S. military protection of the camp "unavoidable" and indicated a United Nations monitoring mission was needed.

Spanish Judge Summons Iraqi Commander

A Spanish judge has summoned an Iraqi military commander, who is accused of having directed a 2009 assault on a camp in Iraq holding Iranian opponents of the Tehran government, for questioning over alleged breaches of the Geneva Convention.